Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem (Protocol III) (adopted 08 December 2005, entered into force 14 January 2007)

The International Committee of the Red Crossdefines international humanitarian law as “a set of rules which seek, for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict. It protects persons who are not or are no longer participating in the hostilities and restricts the means and methods of warfare.”

As drug law enforcement in many countries around the world has become more and more militarised, and as terrorist and armed groups have increasingly been funded by the drug trade, the nexus between international humanitarian law and drug control laws and policies has become more and more important.

International Humanitarian Law, as with other branches of international law finds its source in customary international law and international treaties. The core humanitarian treaties are the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their additional protocols of 1977 and 2005.

HRDP summary